One very important way any business might advertise is through showing who it is endorsed by. In the case of a TEFL business it might be through accreditations. Now, this word is used very loosely in the TEFL industry, often meaning little more than two schools are marketing together. For a school to be properly accredited it needs be done so by an official body that is properly authorised to do so. Major examples of such bodies are obviously Cambridge and Trinity College London. To be truly accredited at some point a representative from that body will be sent to observe a course. Just being a member of IATEFL, for example, has no meaning in this context.
In reality, very few of the TEFL schools currently operating have this kind of accreditation. Nevertheless, they may still provide very useful courses, but obviously trainees need to proceed with caution, as the end product is much less reliable. An excellent example of where this kind of false accreditation takes place can be seen in Island TEFL's partnership with the University of San Diego. On the face of it, it appears to be an academic liaison, but in fact Island TEFL's courses are in no way related to those of the University of San Diego. The way they work together is simply that the University of San Diego teach the main course and Island TEFL then try to place students in a Thai school together with an orientation course. In fact, even this final placement is done indirectly through a placement agency. So beware of claims of accreditation that make a school sound more than it is. In fact, we have some serious doubts as to whether the University of San Diego did their homework properly on Island TEFL, which remains unregistered in Thailand, as far as we know.
The way this affects the potential buyer of a franchise is in that it may disguise the reality of what a school is and aggrandise it falsely. This will enable the seller to push up the price, and you, the buyer, will later feel disappointed with the purchase.
So once again do be on the alert for marketing tricks like this that will ultimately put you, the buyer, out of pocket.
Jill Franklyn
Showing posts with label Island TEFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Island TEFL. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
TEFL Scams
In the absence of any further developments or any new businesses for sale, we thought for this month we'd continue on the important theme of internet buying, particularly with reference to Island TEFL and Philip Dunne.
Now, it is well known that three or four people have lost large amounts of money investing in Island TEFL. Although our sources are reliable, we, of course, do not know all the details behind the incidents. However, generally people do not pay large amounts of $20,000 or $30,000 and then behave badly. It may happen as a one-off freak incident, but when it repeats itself, questions need to be asked. To us this implies that something may not be quite right with the set up at Island TEFL.
One always has to consider the possibility that any online company is a scam. If you have no physical address for the seller and no way of making him or her accountable in the event of a breakdown, you are taking a huge risk. This is why we'd like to refer you back to our ground advice. It is essential that somewhere there is proper registered headquarters for the company.
It may be that a business offer is not a full scam, and that there is some kind of genuine business taking place. For example, if you do a fantastic job, maybe the seller will decide that he or she wants to continue to work with you and the rewards will be good. On the other hand, if things go wrong or you come up short in any way, that's when you might suddenly find you lose everything. It's very easy for someone you were working with online to simply disappear from your life, together with your money.
So please do be very careful with large online transactions and make sure the "company" you are dealing with is fully accountable.
Good luck,
Jill Franklyn
Now, it is well known that three or four people have lost large amounts of money investing in Island TEFL. Although our sources are reliable, we, of course, do not know all the details behind the incidents. However, generally people do not pay large amounts of $20,000 or $30,000 and then behave badly. It may happen as a one-off freak incident, but when it repeats itself, questions need to be asked. To us this implies that something may not be quite right with the set up at Island TEFL.
One always has to consider the possibility that any online company is a scam. If you have no physical address for the seller and no way of making him or her accountable in the event of a breakdown, you are taking a huge risk. This is why we'd like to refer you back to our ground advice. It is essential that somewhere there is proper registered headquarters for the company.
It may be that a business offer is not a full scam, and that there is some kind of genuine business taking place. For example, if you do a fantastic job, maybe the seller will decide that he or she wants to continue to work with you and the rewards will be good. On the other hand, if things go wrong or you come up short in any way, that's when you might suddenly find you lose everything. It's very easy for someone you were working with online to simply disappear from your life, together with your money.
So please do be very careful with large online transactions and make sure the "company" you are dealing with is fully accountable.
Good luck,
Jill Franklyn
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Island TEFL
Looking again at the Island TEFL business currently for sale http://www.businessesforsale.com/thai/Bangkok-Established-English-Teaching-TEFL-Business-For-Sale.aspx we feel it's important to confirm to potential buyers that Island TEFL is not an "established" business. It is not a registered company in Thailand and nor does it have any permanent premises. In fact, according to our sources, the current course is being held in a restaurant bar off Soi 8 in Sukhumwit Road. This is typical of the makeshift nature of Island TEFL courses. So please be aware of this hit and miss, ad hoc set up.
In our opinion, the Island TEFL franchise is worth nothing. In fact, rather the converse. Philip Dunne should be paying someone to run his company. What he really needs is a manager permanently resident in Thailand. The reason he can't employ a manager is because he needs to register the company first, and that would be your role as the franchisee. But in view of the importance of what you would be doing, i.e. establishing his company for real, in our view, you would deserve more than mere franchisee status. You would need to be a proper fully fledged partner, with owner's rights, rather than merely being a franchisee who can be terminated almost at whim.
This, of course, is merely our opinion (see Disclaimer), but because of the large sum of money at stake, we do advise extreme caution. Others before have lost five figure sums to Philip Dunne. Again, please also read our ground advice.
Be cautious,
Mark Gilchrist
In our opinion, the Island TEFL franchise is worth nothing. In fact, rather the converse. Philip Dunne should be paying someone to run his company. What he really needs is a manager permanently resident in Thailand. The reason he can't employ a manager is because he needs to register the company first, and that would be your role as the franchisee. But in view of the importance of what you would be doing, i.e. establishing his company for real, in our view, you would deserve more than mere franchisee status. You would need to be a proper fully fledged partner, with owner's rights, rather than merely being a franchisee who can be terminated almost at whim.
This, of course, is merely our opinion (see Disclaimer), but because of the large sum of money at stake, we do advise extreme caution. Others before have lost five figure sums to Philip Dunne. Again, please also read our ground advice.
Be cautious,
Mark Gilchrist
Friday, April 4, 2014
Island TEFL, Koh Phangan
We noticed that Island TEFL recently made a sale to someone in Koh Pha Ngan. See the website - http://thailand.businessforsale.com/buy/koh-phangan-established-tefl-training-opportunity-business-for-sale. We wish the new "owner" or franchisee the best of luck.
What concerns us about this one is the reasons Mr. Dunne gave for selling, being that "Island TEFL has exercised its right to terminate its business agreement with the previous "owner" of Island TEFL Koh Phangan because of breach of contract". In our view this indicates the importance of research before making a deal. We would want to know more about that before buying. The full details, in fact. There are several worrying features. Firstly, if he has terminated before he may well do it again. In fact, Philip Dunne has a well known track record of doing precisely this. So, as suggested in our previous blog, why risk putting yourself in this position when in reality it is quite possible that you will function as no more than branch manager anyway. Effectively, you may be giving someone $20,000 simply to be your boss. And a boss who may terminate you at any time and relieve you of all of your investment. The use of the word "owner" in inverted commas is also interesting in that it suggests that you will never be the owner in the true sense of the word. Philip Dunne is unlikely to relinquish his claim to that title.
On the subject of breach of contract and termination, it can never be just at the whim of the owner. An owner may feel omnipotent within his own company. Nevertheless he still has to abide by the law. Any breach of contract or termination notice needs to be ratified by a lawyer, and you have the right to appeal against it. This is why it's important to have the contract checked by a lawyer beforehand and also for your lawyer to establish communication with the owner's lawyer too. You need to be certain that he has a lawyer, particularly if he's living abroad, as in the case of Philip Dunne. Remember, Island TEFL has no established or fixed headquarters or base in Thailand. As far as we can ascertain it is not a registered company in Thailand.
However, this all brings us back to the point we made in our previous blog, that in Thailand any legal action will be laborious, expensive with the outcome difficult to enforce, which is why we do not recommend the franchise approach to doing business in Thailand. We would only recommend a full purchase lock, stock and barrel and, at that, only if it's a properly established company with a physical base. If the seller is still keeping a controlling interest, we would suggest setting up independently as a better option.
We hope this is helpful to potential buyers.
Good luck,
Mark Gilchrist (co-founder, TEFL Businesses)
Disclaimer: Please note that the above comments are simply the views and opinions of "TEFL Businesses" and in no way represent incontrovertible truths. All information should be checked and verified by the reader before being acted upon. We also take no responsibility for any comments posted, other than that any comment using foul or abusive language will be deleted.
What concerns us about this one is the reasons Mr. Dunne gave for selling, being that "Island TEFL has exercised its right to terminate its business agreement with the previous "owner" of Island TEFL Koh Phangan because of breach of contract". In our view this indicates the importance of research before making a deal. We would want to know more about that before buying. The full details, in fact. There are several worrying features. Firstly, if he has terminated before he may well do it again. In fact, Philip Dunne has a well known track record of doing precisely this. So, as suggested in our previous blog, why risk putting yourself in this position when in reality it is quite possible that you will function as no more than branch manager anyway. Effectively, you may be giving someone $20,000 simply to be your boss. And a boss who may terminate you at any time and relieve you of all of your investment. The use of the word "owner" in inverted commas is also interesting in that it suggests that you will never be the owner in the true sense of the word. Philip Dunne is unlikely to relinquish his claim to that title.
On the subject of breach of contract and termination, it can never be just at the whim of the owner. An owner may feel omnipotent within his own company. Nevertheless he still has to abide by the law. Any breach of contract or termination notice needs to be ratified by a lawyer, and you have the right to appeal against it. This is why it's important to have the contract checked by a lawyer beforehand and also for your lawyer to establish communication with the owner's lawyer too. You need to be certain that he has a lawyer, particularly if he's living abroad, as in the case of Philip Dunne. Remember, Island TEFL has no established or fixed headquarters or base in Thailand. As far as we can ascertain it is not a registered company in Thailand.
However, this all brings us back to the point we made in our previous blog, that in Thailand any legal action will be laborious, expensive with the outcome difficult to enforce, which is why we do not recommend the franchise approach to doing business in Thailand. We would only recommend a full purchase lock, stock and barrel and, at that, only if it's a properly established company with a physical base. If the seller is still keeping a controlling interest, we would suggest setting up independently as a better option.
We hope this is helpful to potential buyers.
Good luck,
Mark Gilchrist (co-founder, TEFL Businesses)
Disclaimer: Please note that the above comments are simply the views and opinions of "TEFL Businesses" and in no way represent incontrovertible truths. All information should be checked and verified by the reader before being acted upon. We also take no responsibility for any comments posted, other than that any comment using foul or abusive language will be deleted.
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